Alfred PoorAcnodes PKD 8170There's no doubt that the Acnodes PKD 8170 is solidly built or that it makes taking a display and keyboard into the field where you may need to work on remote PCs easy. But the display's limitations and the high price will keep this confined to a narrow niche market.

There's no doubt that the Acnodes PKD 8170 is solidly built or that it makes taking a display and keyboard into the field where you may need to work on remote PCs easy. But the display's limitations and the high price will keep this confined to a narrow niche market.

Acnodes may not be a household name in the mainstream display market, but those in the industrial-computing arena may be familiar with the company. Acnodes manufactures panel PCs, keyboards, and rack-mountable LCDsusually for custom-built systems. It also makes a rugged, portable LCD monitor.

The PKD 8170 is not your average LCD, even though it has a typical 17-inch screen (diagonally) and 1,280- by 1,024-pixel native resolution. Priced at $1,425 (direct), it costs as much as three or four standard LCDs of the same size. Why so much? It comes with a keyboard, but the biggest draw is that the components are housed in an aluminum-alloy case with rubber bumpers on the corners.

The monitor and keyboard combination was developed to meet military requirements, which explains the utilitarian flat-black color scheme. Civilian users may find it helpful when servicing computers in the field that do not have keyboards or displays attached, whether it's a computer in a server farm or a system installed out in a remote location to monitor or control equipment. The unit weighs 25 pounds and requires AC power, which may limit its versatility.

The monitor handles only analog signals, using standard VGA-style connectors. The single cable also includes two PS/2 connectors for the keyboard and touchpad, which provides mouse functions. The front-panel controls consist of just four orange rubber buttons, which provide access to the on-screen menu. One of the buttons also triggers the autosync function, but you'll discover this only through experimentation, since the monitor does not come with printed documentation.

For such a utilitarian device, you don't need top-of-the-line display performance, which is fortunate because the PKD 8170 has some image-quality flaws. The autosync feature worked well, and the dark-gray performance was excellent. Color ramps were smooth, brightness uniformity looked good, and we saw no apparent pixel defects. The panel did, however, fail to display any of the lightest shades of gray, the color tracking test revealed a distinct green hue to dark-gray shades, and viewing-angle performance was extremely limited in the vertical plane. This last item was particularly bothersome because you can't angle the monitor; its case sits it at a 90-degree angle to the work surface.

If you need a rugged LCD monitor and keyboard, this is certainly a viable solutionalbeit an expensive one. It might be just as easy to get a quality instrument case and high-density foam to support an inexpensive desktop LCD monitor and keyboard. It might be just as effective at protecting the device, and even if the monitor should become damaged, you can probably replace it a number of times before you end up spending as much as the Acnodes PKD 8170 costs.